Greatest depression!

[Txwalt]

What if gas prices hit $10 a gallon? $20 a Gallon? That would start something we haven't seen before. That would be the great depression. (This would be a little different. It would not be a global depression. The oil rich countries, like Russia would be on top of the world.) Those of us that thought we had secure jobs would be out of work. Cattle prices would plummet. Rustling would start. Theft beyond our imagination. What would you do if your kids were starving? The government would have to start selling our military equipment to foreign countries. Unemployment checks would dry up. If people couldn't pay the utilities how would the utilities pay the employees? Congress will not allow us to drill right now. How bad does it need to get? Will it be too late?

This is the type of conversation I've been having with a friend/coworker. What will it be like if? Will it get that bad? And what will happen if it does?

I think we are beating ourselves up over nothing. It doesn't make sense that our President goes to another country with hat in hand asking for them to increase oil production when we won't do it ourselves. This country has lost its pride. "WE" think its not fair that we are the lone super power. We are paying our enemies for oil. Through the nose.

Walt

P.S. I'll shoot the last damn caribou if it brought gas prices down a Dollar.

 

[hillrancher]

Walt, if I under stand it correctly oil is traded based on the American dollar. If the prime was increased instead of decreased in value, from last July we would not be paying the price we are for oil products. Oil based on the euro has not increased, but very little. Yes gas and diesel will be 7 shortly it is 5+ now here.
I was visiting with my fuel supplier today he stated if we started drilling and building refineries today it would be 10 to 11 years before we could be self sustaining.
I do know that I cannot fix the problem and all I can do is cut back and not use only what I have to.

 

[J. T.]

I agree, Walt, but I need some clarification about drilling oil domestically. We keep hearing that we need to drill in the US, but who is the "we" that keeps coming up? If that is the oil companies, who can force them to drill? Understand that I'm playing the devil's advocate here, but would that not be the same as telling cattlemen to increase the national herd size because the price of cattle/beef is too high? I may be all wet on this, and I don't like paying $4.65/gal. for diesel, but isn't that free enterprise? Who can make the oil companies increase production and increase supply? That cuts into their profits and every business is about making money.

 

[Jogeephus]

Seems to me we all need to be vaccinated against "Not in My Backyard Syndrome" before it kills us all. A change in our art curriculum will also be neccessary to show how beautiful a factory or a windmill can be. In our biology department we need to devote at least a month explaining how small an animal's brain is and stress that these are in fact animals and not humans and their feelings are based solely on needs and not on logic or thought. In science and history, we need to stress to the students that there is nothing more natural than extinction and the idea of restricting developement for the sole purpose of saving a yellow-bellied slug is lunacy.

 

[pdfangus]

T Boone Pickens was on the radio the other day.
Says world oil production is currently averaging 85 million barrels a day
world oil demand is currently averaging 87 million barrels a day.
Production has peaked and is declining around the world
Demand is growing steadily.
New oil production would be to fill the gap between demand and productions.
I am near sixty years old and folks have been talking about running out of oil since I was a kid. but this country is too smug and complacent and obsessed with being better than the Jones to actually pay attention to reality.
We had gas shortages in the 70's but then the times got better and don't worry...be happy became the national mantra.
Read the other day that they have sold more SUVs in china in the last five years than have been sold since the first one in the US.
Politicians don't care as they will be the last ones out of a job and they have all of us to support them.
After all no matter what else befalls you in life, you must pay your taxes.

 

[Jim62]

According to news stories on the electric radio yestiddy, more and more people are finally admitting that supply and demand has nothing to do with today's high gas prices. Even the Saudis say they are pumping out more than adequate crude to satisfy demands, and lack of product is playing no part in the high prices. I doubt that "big oil" is solely to blame, but it seems the driving force is greed rather than supply or demand. It always struck me as kind of strange that a single event (hurricane Katrina) could touch off such a demand increase and/or supply decrease almost overnight.

Why would they lower prices when Americans are clearly willing to pay $4 or $5 per gallon ??

 

[Lammie]

Okay, correct me if I am wrong here, and I always am. :shock: Oil is traded on the market as a commodity in futures and it is the greed of the traders on the market that is driving prices up. The futures prices are based on what we think will happen in the future based on the war, supply, demand, weather, what we are willing to pay... I think it is all greed, pure and simple. We do need domestic production and exploration and more refinery space. I don't think that will resolve anything short term. I think it is a combination of greed, the oil companies, exporting producers, our dependence... You can't just blame one entity here.

I think the oil bubble will burst like the housing bubble and the tech stock bubble.

If you want to correct me, type slow, cause I am a slow reader today...

 

[grannysoo]

It's not going to take 10 - 20 $ per gallon gas to make bad things happen....

As to my opinions on the subject, it's just probably best to keep them to myself.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Come Grannysoo go ahead give us the opinion, worse thing can happen is another thread gets locked. We are farmers we should be able to figure out how to beat some of these cost. We all need to remember the first desiel engine ever built was ran on pure peanut oil. White lighting fueled more than a few model T's.

 

[pdfangus]

Come Grannysoo go ahead give us the opinion, worse thing can happen is another thread gets locked. We are farmers we should be able to figure out how to beat some of these cost. We all need to remember the first desiel engine ever built was ran on pure peanut oil. White lighting fueled more than a few model T's.

If you want to run the risk of incurring considerable rath by daring to use food for fuel.

 

[bigbull338]

heres the deal oil prices are controlled by the future traders.they are buying futures options an puts on the oil.thus making the price go up.i doubt very seriously thats theres an oil shortage.i know of 2 or 3 places theres a motherload of oil.not to mention the oil thats in the offshore waters.if the US would only drive when they have to.youd see a 30 to 40% deecrease in the fuel usage.as for the teiving killing an stealing we already have that.the thing is people will start shooting 1st an ask qs later.

 

[ND Angus]

North Dakota is going through an oil BOOM right now. There are more drilling rigs here than ever before. Just recently the Three Afliated Tribes anounced that they have jumped through all the EPA's loops and are on track for building a refinery here. Here in Western ND we have just found out we are sitting on one of the largest oil fields in the world. It has been good for our ecomony , there are so many jobs here it is unreal.

 

[Lammie]

Well, I always knew that Native Americans would take back the country one way or another. There are no protests from environmentalists? No one is chaining themselves to the equipment?

Well, I guess it can happen...

 

[TexasBred]

North Dakota is going through an oil BOOM right now. There are more drilling rigs here than ever before. Just recently the Three Afliated Tribes anounced that they have jumped through all the EPA's loops and are on track for building a refinery here. Here in Western ND we have just found out we are sitting on one of the largest oil fields in the world. It has been good for our ecomony , there are so many jobs here it is unreal.

ND..that's great...another proposed HUGE refinery was canned due to gov't regulations and "environmental issues".

 

[Beef08]

You know environmentalists just chap my... well you know

 

[Jogeephus]

You know environmentalists just chap my... well you know

Mine too.

 

[I luv herfrds]

ND glad to hear about the new refinery. Now is this the same one that I heard about in Union County, SD or a different one?
The ding bats are still trying to kill the coal fired power plant out here. They keep talking about wind turbines, but theses are the same ding bats that ran out a company that was going to build a large wind farm until the enviros had a fit that the location would destroy the view of the Missouri River Monument.
Why don't these idjets make up their minds?

 

[larryshoat]

Okay, correct me if I am wrong here, and I always am. :shock: Oil is traded on the market as a commodity in futures and it is the greed of the traders on the market that is driving prices up. The futures prices are based on what we think will happen in the future based on the war, supply, demand, weather, what we are willing to pay... I think it is all greed, pure and simple. We do need domestic production and exploration and more refinery space. I don't think that will resolve anything short term. I think it is a combination of greed, the oil companies, exporting producers, our dependence... You can't just blame one entity here.

I think the oil bubble will burst like the housing bubble and the tech stock bubble.

If you want to correct me, type slow, cause I am a slow reader today...

I'm not going to correct you because I think you're right . What we have now is an irrational market . The problem with that is that it can stay irrational longer than we can stay solvent .Markets always move from a condition of being over bought to a condition of being oversold then back again, its never ending .Sooner or later those traders will decide the party is over and take oil out and shoot it . How high will it go? I don't know . When will it break and how much? I don't know that either, but it will .

Larry

 

[ND Angus]

There is nothing but support for a refinery here in ND. We don't have to many enviormentalist here , YET. The news has reported that we are sitting on 3 BILLION barrels of oil that can be pumped. The report also said that is only about 3% of the oil in the Bakken Formation and with improved technoligy we could possibly retrieve even more than 3 BILLION barrels. The are drilling wells with in 20 miles of my farm that are producing 1000 to 2500 barrles of oil a DAY. The problem is getting the oil in the pipeline , it is just to small. Another problem is help . There is a great need for truck drivers and oil field workers. I saw a couple of help wanted ads in the paper and they are starting truck drivers out at around $60,000 a year which is real good money for ND. A normal rig worker right now is making almost $80,000 . We also have a huge wind farm project underway . Approx. 300 new wind towers in the next few years !. ND has the loosest enviromental laws and regulations of all states and is ranked the cleanest. Go figure.

 

[TexasBred]

ND....your state deserves a big pat on the back. Maybe others will watch and learn. Best wishes to all of you up that way. :tiphat: